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spiculum

American  
[spik-yuh-luhm] / ˈspɪk jə ləm /

noun

Zoology.
spicula plural
  1. a small, needlelike body, part, process, or the like.


spiculum British  
/ ˈspɪkjʊləm /

noun

  1. another word for spicule

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of spiculum

1740–50; < Latin spīculum; see spicule

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Rossiter in this autumn of 1917 was extremely interested in certain crucial experiments he was making with spiculum in sponge-cells; with scleroblasts, "mason-cells," osteoblasts, and "consciousness" in bone-cells.

From Mrs. Warren's Daughter A Story of the Woman's Movement by Johnston, Harry Hamilton, Sir

The failures they experienced, even their humble successes, were met with sneers and laughter; till at last Hermose held up aloft a little spicula of gold about the thickness of a pencil.

From Confessions Of Con Cregan An Irish Gil Blas by Lever, Charles James

A little above this, where the lime is less abundant, and the lava more compact, numerous little balls, composed of spicula of calcareous spar, radiating from common centres, occupy the interstices.

From Volcanic Islands by Darwin, Charles

In some cases I have found spicula projecting from the inner plate of the skull, and pressing upon or even penetrating the dura mater.

From The Dog by Youatt, William

These spicula are of the same diameter throughout their length; they are easily detached, so that the object-glass of the microscope soon becomes scattered over with them.

From Volcanic Islands by Darwin, Charles

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